Surly Brewing Company

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Two Minnesotans, one an avid homebrewer who runs an industrial abrasives manufacturing business started by his Pakistani father and German mother, and the other, a heavy metal guitarist-turned-head brewer, cross paths at the San Diego Brewers Conference. The homebrewer offers to help the head brewer brew at his current brewery, and eventually convinces the head brewer to team up with him to convert the abrasives factory into a brewery, make world-renowned beer, and become one of the fastest growing breweries in the country.